Locatable and embeddable anchor point covers

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for locating anchor points embedded within building structures are presented. Anchor points within a building structure (e.g., column, pillar, floor, wall, etc.) can be covered by an anchor point cover to prevent the anchor point from becoming contaminated by poured concrete used to form the building structure. The anchor point cover can be placed so that a top portion of cover is just beneath the surface of the concrete building structure. In addition, an anchor point locator can be placed near the anchor point. Once the poured concrete hardens, the anchor point can be located by detecting a signal originating from the anchor point locator. One can remove hardened covering material and the anchor point cover to reveal the anchor point.

1 . A building structure having anchor points, the method comprising:
 a concrete form;   a reinforcement structure disposed at least partially within in the form; and   an embed plate coupled with the reinforcement structure, the embed plate having (a) an anchor point, (b) an anchor point cover covering the anchor point, and (c) an anchor point locator proximate to the anchor point, where the embed plate is positioned on the reinforcement structure so the anchor point faces toward a surface of the form.   
     
     
         2 . The structure of  claim 1 , further comprising concrete disposed within the concrete form covering the anchor point. 
     
     
         3 . The structure of  claim 2 , wherein the anchor point locator is configured to emit a location signal. 
     
     
         4 . The structure of  claim 3 , wherein the location signal comprises at least one of the following: a magnetic signal, an audio signal, and a radio signal. 
     
     
         5 . The structure of  claim 3 , wherein the location signal comprises an anchor point identifier. 
     
     
         6 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the anchor point locator comprises at least one of the following: a magnet and an RFID tag. 
     
     
         7 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the anchor point locator is disposed within the anchor point cover. 
     
     
         8 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the anchor point comprises a threaded anchor point. 
     
     
         9 . The structure of  claim 8 , wherein the threaded anchor point is a recess into the embed plate. 
     
     
         10 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete form comprises at least one of a wall form, a column form, a floor forms, and a ceiling form. 
     
     
         11 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete form comprises a soil wall. 
     
     
         12 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete form is a top-down construction structure. 
     
     
         13 . A method of locating an embedded anchor point within a concrete structure, the method comprising:
 providing an embed plate having (a) a anchor point, (b) an anchor point cover covering the anchor point, and (c) a anchor point locator proximate to the anchor point;   disposing the embed plate within a concrete form;   filling the concrete form with concrete so the concrete covers the anchor point cover;   locating the anchor point by detecting a location signal from the anchor point locator; and   exposing the anchor point by removing hardened concrete and the anchor point cover at a location indicated by the location signal.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising coupling the embed plate with a reinforcement structure and disposing a reinforcement structure within the concrete form. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising positioning the embed plate where the anchor point faces toward a surface of the concrete form. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the step of locating the anchor point includes using a sensor to detect the locator signal. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the locator signal comprises at least one of a magnetic field, an RFID identifier, and an audio signal. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising providing the concrete form by using soil as the form's walls. 
     
     
         19 . A building structure anchor point cover, the cover comprising:
 a covering body sized and dimensioned to cover an embed plate's anchor point and configured to prevent poured concrete from interfering with the anchor point when the embed plate is covered with concrete; and   an anchor point locator coupled with the covering body and configured to emit a location signal.   
     
     
         20 . The cover of  claim 19 , wherein the anchor point locator comprises at least one of a magnet, and an RFID tag. 
     
     
         21 . The cover of  claim 19 , wherein the covering body comprises a frangible material.